A sensible proposal

Under the right circumstances, driving down the Las Vegas Strip (preferably by night) can be a hedonistic experience. Too often, however, it is a bumper-to-bumper nightmare. Something needs to be done and Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (D) has stepped up to the plate, proposing to block the Strip to all traffic save RTC buses, taxicabs, and Lyft and Uber drivers. She cites the “difficulty” first responders had in getting to Mandalay Bay during the 10/1 shootings and I, for one, would not have wanted to be navigating an ambulance through Strip traffic on an average evening. The details of Giunchigliani’s proposed no-drive zone are not explicitly stated, but it sounds like it would begin at Russell Road, south of Mandalay Bay, and end at least as far north as Sahara Avenue. Sounds good to me. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada has $2.3 million to devise a new “transportation strategy” for the Las Vegas area. I’d Giunchigliani just saved them a lot of money and gray matter.

* MGM Resorts International has gotten a head start on its refurbishment of Excalibur. Today it unveiled its “Ultimate 4-D Experience.” The initial attraction is a 15-minute version of creature feature The Polar Express, soon to be joined by San Andreas 4-D Experience, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and The LEGO® Movie™. The amenity is described as “incorporating the latest technologies such as in-theater and in-seat effects to create the optimum cinematic experience putting guests right in the middle of the action.” It’s best to buy your tickets in bulk: One showing goes for only $9.99 but you can purchase as many as three for $14.99. Who says family friendly Vegas is dead?

* Remember the City of Evansville riverboat that used to be Casino Aztar? It’s getting a second life — and a new name — as the Riverboat Louis Armstrong in New Orleans. Proving that casino riverboats never die but are merely repurposed, Casino Rock Island is also coming to the Crescent City to be the City of New Orleans. Neither ship is designated for gambling, however, but it’s nice to see them finding new homes so quickly.

* Online punters in New Jersey will now be able to gamble on solitaire. “One of the original partners simply asked the question, ‘Why isn’t solitaire a slot game?’ From there, we explored the stories that the game was originally played in Las Vegas at bars. Patrons would buy a deck of cards for $52 and receive $4 for every card they were able to put in the stacks,” explains Solitairus Inc. exec KC Flynn. Already Flynn and his associates are talking about a slot-machine version, citing that Holy Grail of slot-floor managers, ‘increased time on device.’ I wouldn’t bet against them. As they say in The Manchurian Candidate, “Why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?”

* Congratulations to Mohegan Sun Pocono on luring Bradford Cobb away from Hollywood Casino in Baton Rouge to be its new CFO. Cobb has been steadily working his way eastward, having gotten his start in Vegas before moving on to Biloxi, then Baton Rouge and now Wilkes-Barre. There’s plenty of room for upward mobility within the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and Cobb could easily find himself at Resorts Atlantic City or the titular property in Connecticut if he plays his cards right.